Away from the humdrum of a monotonous life in front of laptops for nine hours a day, the IT professionals working in Hi-Tech city here have found a new way of de-stress themselves during the weekends.
The two-day weekend getaways are proving to be a refreshing change for about 700 of them when they travel to Naskal village, 13 kms before Vikarabad, to take up farming and learn its nuances with the ultimate objective to land a career in agriculture when they quit jobs.
About 30 permanent members of the group and two promoters who were themselves ex-IT employees have pooled their money and purchased 50 acres of land in two locations where the activity has been going on since September last. Farming is done here by drip irrigation from bore wells to cultivate fig (anjeer) and thai guava, both of which have a crop duration of 15 years each but start yielding income from the second year. There is also inter-cropping of seasonal vegetables to enhance the hands on experience of the participants. What is the participation of the larger group of 670 plus when the investment is made by 30 others? They spend a few hours, relaxing in a natural environment and learning to use the plough and till the soil. In other words, they contribute to the labour voluntarily. The idea was to provide a platform (name is ApnaFarm) and drive passionate people towards agriculture, says Syed Qasimuddin, one of the promoters. The group that gathers at Naskal on Saturdays and Sundays is considered homogeneous because it was made up of people with the same kind of thought process who wanted healthy habits rather than hanging around for late night parties.
Julius Reuben, employee of an IT solutions company, says they are now looking for weekends for a better way to enjoy with fresh air in the lap of nature. The concept was given the name `urban farming’ as educated urban youth were involved in an activity that had to do with rural areas.
